India is awaiting information from the World Health Organization about a cough syrup linked to the deaths of 66 children in Gambia from a drug that the organization says may cause kidney failure.


The Indian Ministry of Health has stated through its officials that India is awaiting evidence from the World Health Organization of a link between medicine and the death of children, as the killing of 66 children represents a significant blow to India's image as the "pharmacy of the world", which provides medicines to all continents, especially Africa. One of the employees of the Ministry of Health, who did not want to be identified, said that "all the required steps were taken in this regard, as soon as we received information from the World Health Organization, and in light of the data available so far."


For his part, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told reporters yesterday, Wednesday, October 5, that the United Nations agency is investigating deaths from acute kidney injury with the Indian pharmaceutical regulator and Maiden Pharmaceuticals, a manufacturer of cough syrup based in New Delhi. .


The source said that the United Nations health agency informed the Comptroller General of Medicines in India of the deaths late last month, after which the regulatory body launched an investigation with state authorities, in coordination with the World Health Organization.


And the World Health Organization added that laboratory analyzes of cough syrup confirmed the presence of “unacceptable” amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, which can be toxic, and lead to acute kidney injury.


And Reuters news agency reported that no one answered the phone calls to the number registered under the name “Miden Pharmaceuticals”, which began its activities in November 1990, and the agency did not receive a response to requests for comment sent via e-mail to the company, and the calls of the observer were not answered. General Pharmaceuticals in India.


For its part, the official sources of the Indian Ministry of Health announced that the company "Maidin Pharmaceuticals" manufactures cough syrup and exports it to Gambia only. The company's annual production capacity is 2.2 million syrup bottles, 300,000 ointment tubes, 600 million capsules, 18 million syringes and 1.2 billion tablets, and says it sells its products at home and exports to countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.


A source at the Ministry of Health said that importing countries usually test such products before allowing their use, while the World Health Organization said that the products of "Medin Pharmaceuticals", promethazine oral solution, "Covexmalin" cough syrup for children, Makoff cough syrup for children, and Magrib syrup that the cold may be It was distributed elsewhere through informal markets, but has only been observed in The Gambia.


Source: Reuters 

Post a Comment

أحدث أقدم